The Kremlin on Thursday said a blast on a key ammonia pipeline it has blamed on Ukraine would have a “negative” effect on talks to renew a Ukrainian grain export deal.
“It is another thing that really complicates the situation from the point of view of extending the deal,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Moscow said Wednesday that a Ukrainian “sabotage” group had blown up a section of the Togliatti-Odesa pipeline that Russia used to export ammonia before the start of its campaign in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have instead accused Russian forces of firing at the 2,500-kilometre (1,534 mile) pipeline.
The resumption of Russia’s ammonia exports through the pipeline is one of Moscow’s conditions to continue with the grain export deal, which allows safe passage for Ukrainian grain shipments.
Russia has accused the West of blocking its exports of fertiliser, for which ammonia is a core component.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday said Kyiv was “the only country that has never been interested in resuscitating the pipeline.”
She accused Kyiv of “dealing a blow to UN efforts to combat world hunger” and said that if crews could access the site, it would take one to three months to repair the damage.
